Latch



1,533,489 A. F. WINTERS ET AL LATCH 27, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet i Filed April April 14, 1925. 1,533,489

A. F'. WINTERS ET AL LATCH Filed April 27, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hworgg;

April 14, 1925.

A. F. WINTERS ET AL LATCH Filed April 27 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 tra Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.`

ALEXANDER F. VINTERS AND BASIL R. CRAMPTON, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

LATCH.

Application filed April 27, 1923. Serial No. 634,951.

To @U whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER F. NIN- 'rens and Basin R. CRAMr'roN, citizens of the United States of America, residing` at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State of l'iichigan, have invented certain new and useful lniproveiuents in Latches; and we do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to inake and use the saine.

rihe present invention relates to a latch construction used on doors of articles ol furniture, such as refrigerators, cabinets and the like having swinging` or hingedly mounted doors. This latch, in conjunction with a suitable strike or keeper mounted on the door jainb or easing` serves to hold the door in closed position.

lt is a primary object and purpose of the invention to inake a latch which through spring` action serves to automatically hold the door in closed position and has a tendency to wedge the door tightly shut, this being of especial value in latches for refrigerator doors wherein escape of the cold air from inside the refrigerator is to he ohviated as much as possible. A further object of the invention is to provide the latch with mechanisms whereby when the saine is operated to unlatch and open the door to which it is attached, the latch lever is automatically freed freni` the influence of the springY which the latch is attached to the door, or

to the hinges which inount the door; and immediately after the latch lever has passed the keeper, the spring` is automatically released to act on the latch lever and press it into latching and wedging 'position with respect to the keeper. A still further object of the inrention is to provide a latch struc.- ture which is so constructed that the variations which take place in the door in swelling;` or shrinking, or in the variations which may take place in manufacturing' the door so as to have its dimensions slightly greater or less than the enact dimensions, have no effect on the working of the latch as an effective door holding` closure, this being a feature of great practical value. These objects and purposes, together with many others not at this time specifically enun'ierated, will appear understanding of the :invention is had from the following descrip-y tion, taken in connetcion with the accompanying drawings, in which7 i Fig'. 1 is a front elevation of the latch and keeper therefor shown mounted on a door and door casing which are shown fragmentarily.

Fig. 2 is an under plan view of the latcl and keeper, the door and its'casing being in horizontal section.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the keeper and latch, the door casing` appearingl in vertical section. Fig. 4t is a View similar to that shown in 1, with the ripper side of the latch casing cut away to show the interior mechanisin of the latch.

Fig. 5 Ais a horizontal section through the latch at a point just below the spring holding and trigger releaserneinber which is shown in elevation and in the position which it occupies when the spring is automatically held from action on the latch lever.

llig. 6 .is a rear elevation of the complete latch assembly. y

Figs. i' to 13 are perspective views of the separate elem-ents used in making up the latch asseinhly. i

Fig. llt is a transverse section through a somewhat inodiied form of latch structure.

Fig. 15 is an under plan view thereof.

Figs. 16 to 19 inclusive are perspective views of the modified fori'ns of elementsv entering` into the inodilied form of latch structure.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The door 1 te which the latch is to be attached inay `be of any conventional construction, and adapted to he hingedly inounted so as to close a door opening bounded by the door casing` 2. Only a fragmentary portion of the door and its casing;l is shown, beinp; those parts where the latch and its Ikeeper are inounted, the latch at the free vertical edge of the door, and the keeper at the vertical side of the casing opposite that at which the door is hinged.

`'lhe'keeper includes a hase 3 which is secured hy screws 4 to the door casing` 2. From this hase, integral therewith and pro-- jccting outwardly is a post 5 which is heut upwardly at an angle to the. vertical for a distance and which terminates in a down.-

lll)

. passed into the door for securing the said casing or housing and the mechanism mounted therein-to the door. ments of the latch are shown separately in Figs. 7 yto 13 and will now be briefly outlined as to each.

The casing or housing is formed from single piece Aof'relatively heavy sheet metal to form the raised housingportion 10 andr the oppositely. projecting lower extensions 11. Infop'posite sides ot the housing portion 10 openings 13 and 15 are made by cutting` away the material and near the inneredgeof the side where the opening 13 is made slots 1d are cut as shown. In a similar manner the slots 16 are cut near the inner edge of the side in which the opening `15 is made. A' tongue 17 projects inwardly from the upper side ot the housing 10 into the opening at'15, being separated by a slot 1S i'iroi'n the adjacent metal ot'the housing.

A base 419 Jformed from a single plate of sheet metal is used to till the bottom ot the housing having portions cut away and openings made therethrough to pass the screws 12inthe attachment of the latch to the door. At one side, a narrowed portion 2O extends outwardly for a short distance, is then narrowed still more, as indicated at 2l and terminates in a wider portion from which the tongues 22 extend, as shown in Fig. 8, Isaid tongues being adapted to be seated in the slots 14 of the housing in the assembled structure. A relatively wide and short tongue 23 extends trom the opposite side of the base plate 19, its side edges being adapted to be received in theslots 16. Two ytongues 2e, with a slot 25 between them having a width equal to the width of the slot 18, are turned upwardly from the edge 23'of the base and so positionedv that when the base is attached to the housing, the slots 18 and 25 are in vdirect alinement. Substantially at one corner o't the base, a wide tongue 2G is struck therefrom and bent upwardly for a distance and then bent over in substantial parallelism with the base, as at 27.- Alined openings 2S are made in the overhanging portion 2T and the base, as shown in Fig. 10. j

An elongated latch lever 30 made as an integral casting is used, one end being formed into a handle 31 and the other into The detaile(u ele-y -said shoulder moves into position to ena L t... t

a head 32 formed at one side with an in* clined cam side 39. An opening 3e is made through the handle between its ends and near said opening, a lug is foi-ined to project to one side ot the handle, a concaved groove 36 being made in one side of the lug.

The latch lever is adapted to be pivotally mounted on the base, passing between the same and the overhanging portion 27 of tongue 26 with the opening' 34 alined with the openings 28. A headed pin 3T is passed through the alined openings to malte the pivotal connection. Such pin does not ,needto be headed or riveted over at'ter nass' through the openings as in the asseinl head of the pin comes immediately belo upper or outer side oi the housing` l() vrhc holds it from displacement.

A spring carrying bar 38, formed from a single pieceot flat metal, is vprovided at one end with a head 39, rounded at edge to seat in the recess 36 ot lug 35. The bar is widened where it joins the head 39 but is not as wide as the head is long so that lower andupper shoulders Ll0 and il are made as shown in Fig. 13. The opposite end of the bar is widened for a portion oi its length, therebeing` a catch shoulder 42 on the inner under side oit the bar at the juncture ot the narrower and wider portions of the bar. .t coiled spring 13 is placed over the bar5 one end ot' which seats against the lower shoulder 40. The bar 38 is hardened so as to be plate, as heretofore described; the member` 411 is located against the tongues 21l with the lug il@ extending downwardly .into the slot or notchat the end of slot 25 the spring 43 is placed over the bar 38 and the end of the bar is passed through the slot 45 in member il/l and the spring compressed so that the head 39 may be forced into the groove 36 ot member 35. It will be noted that the edge ot he head 39 is located at an angle to the bot tom of the groove 36 (see Fig. 5), and that there is a tendency Jfor the force ott the spring d3 to move the projecting end oi bar 38 downwardly so that when the bar is moved outwardly so that the latching shoulder at t2 passes by the slot 45 in member if-'t with the member -fl-l at the end of the slot thereby holding` the bar troni return moveloo lll

seinbled on the plate 19, the same is attached to the latch housing by passing tongues 22 through the slots. 14 until the plate 19 may be received in the lower side of the housing, and then moving the plate bach so that the ends of the projecting part 23 may enter. the notches 16. In making the base plate, a tongue 29 is formed at one side ot' the part 2O and is bent at an angle to the plane of the plate, as shown in Fig. 8, so that when the plate is assembled with the housing, said tongue projects at an angle, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5. This tongue 29 is bent back into the plane oi.' the base, its end coming within the side liange ot the housing, thereby locking the plate with its attached latch elements thereon securely in place in the housing. The latch lever passes through the openings 13 and 15, the handle 31 extending to one side of the housing, and the head 32 to the opposite side.

llVhen this latch is attached to the door 1 in the position shown in Fig. 1, and. in 4, on pulling downward on the handle 31 of the lever from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4, the bar 38 is moved outwardly lengthwise and spring 43 compressed. The shoulder' at 42 on bar 38 catches over the member 44 at the inner end ot' slot 45, thereby free-ing the lever from the action ot the spring, and due to the overbalance ot the weight of the handle 31, the lever remains in the position shown in Fig. 4. In such position the head 82 clears the keeper and the door may be readily opened. On closing the door, the head 32 passes over the upper end of the keeper and the projecting end oit the bar 38 then comes against the ledge 9, disengaging the shoulder 42 trom member 44 and bringing the spring again into action with the result that the lever 30 is moved to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and they inclined side 33 of the head 32 of the latch lever rides against the inner inclined side S of the keeper with a resultant wedging action which causes the door to shut tightly. lf the bar 38 should not be held by the member 44, then the end 32 ot the lever can ride over the cam 7 until. it passes to behind the keeper, but such action of the latch is not contemplated as the normal working of the latch and the cam i' is used only as an insurance should there be an occasional failure of the bar 88 to latch with the member 44.

This latch is simple in structure, readily manufactured at low cost and is particularly effective in operation. Due to the fact that the spring is out of action when the door is being` closed. there is no strain imparted to the screws 12 which hold the latch casing or housing to the door, nor is there strain ou the door hinges as is the case in latches ot somewhat similar structure but in which the kend ot the lever has to ride over a cam like that at 7 and Vcompress the spring every time the door is closed. This is a very important feature of the present invention. In addition, the structure permits tolerances sul'licient that exact sizes and dimensions of the door may loe varied slightly without detriment to the latch action. The door may swell in any direction or likewise shrink or sag to the extent of at least an eighth of an inch, or the inner sides ot the door may be dressed to this extent, the strike having Vthe y iin'eterred, being easier to assemble but work- 'ingl on identical principles oi operation with that shown in the previously described tige urcs oit the drawing. ln, this modilied form, the casing 1() is constructed the same as be- 'fore except that in the openings 13 and 15 in opposite sides ot the casing, inwardly extending tongues 47 are lett, as shown in Fig. 16. These tongues lie in direct opposition to each other and in the c: between.k the same a bar 4S of fiat. metal is located, at one end having a part 49 turned substantially at right angles, in the end of which a notch 5() is cut. ot a width the same asA the width oit' the tongues 47. rlfhe other end ot the bar is likewise turned in the arc of a circle, as shown at 51 and is notched at 52 in alike manner. This har is located between the tongues 47 which are hent inwardly to seat in the .notches 50 and 52 and clenched so as tov securely connect the bar 48 to the housing. lfrior to such connection a pin 37a is secured at one end to the bar so as to depend therefrom when the bar is attached in place in the housing, and the lever 30 maybe mounted ou this pin in the same manner that it is mounted on the pin 37 in the previously described structure, the pin passing through the opening 34 in the lever.

rlhe lever 30 and the bar 38 associated therewith are not changed .in construction in any respect. The base plate 19a in 'the modilied liorin is changed, it comprising a substantially rectangular plate ot metal, as shown in Fig. 19, from opposed edges ot' which projections 2O:l and 253- extend ot a width equal to the width oli the openings 13 and 15. A tongue 24"L is turned substantially at right angles trom the plate at one side thereoi correspondi ig to the position of the tongues 24 on the iirst base plate 19, and this tongue 24a notched at its end, as at 25, the notch alnnng with the slot 18 between tonguel7'and the adjacent side portion of the casing When the base plate is attached in place. An opening 28 in the `plate 19 is made for the passage et' the pin 37"* therethrough and the plate is depressed around. said opening, making an embossing 53 as shown. rllhe 'free end ol the pin 37a is milled on opposite sides, =making slot-s and when the plate 191 is placed vin position and the pin passed 4through the opening :28e the slots-5l are positioned at the outer side ot the em# bossing 1n position that the retaining clip 55 ol"v U-sliape may be entered inthe slots, as shown in Fig/l5, binding and securing the parts together.

"lVith this construction, the action et the latch-is thevsameas -in thepreviously describedconstruction. The plate 19a, a Whole is ease hardened and the member il mav be eliminated, the shoulder 4t2 on the bar 3S engaging over the tongue 24a when in its latching position. T he assembly ot the parts is simple. Various other modifications may be resorted to ivithout depart-ing from the invention defined in theappended claims, and all such departures coming within the scope ot the claims are to be considered as comprehended bythe invention.

le claim:

l. A lat-ch comprising a housing, a latch lever pivotally mounted therein, spring means to act on the lever-to normally hold it in one position, and releasable latching` means 'tor holding the spring means out of operativerelation tolthe lever whereby the lever istree for pivotal movement.

'2. latch comprising a housing, a latch lever pivotally mount'edin and extending through the housing, a spring to act on. the lever-and normally yieldingly hold itin one position, a. latch bar asf-insisted ivithithe spring, and means with which said latch bar has releasable'engagement tor -holding the latchv bar in oneA position, said bar in said position acting' on the spring to `operate the same out of operative relation with respect to the latch lever.

- A latch comprising a support, a latch lever. pivotally mounted thereon, spring means norn'ially acting on the lever to -move it in one direction, a bar around which the spring` is placed, said bar at ene end bearing against the lever to transmit the torce of the spring means to the lever, said bar having a shoulder at one side, and a member over which the bar passes on operation oit the lever and compression of the spring, said shoulder on the bar engaging against said member to holdl'he spring in compressed term and out ot operative association With the lever until the bar has been, moved to disengage 'from the ineniber.

A latch comprising afhousing, a base plate attached to the housing at its kopen inner side, a latch lever `pivotally mounted.

around the barihet'weenthe head and a side of the housing, saidrbar extendingoutwardly beyondthe side ofthe` housingl and having a shoulderon its Iinner `side, 7and `means over Whi ch the shoulder on the bar rides and with which it'engagesion operation ot the latch lever `in-one direction .therebyz holding the spring from acting on the lever. until the liar released.

ln combination,l a door, a door casing, a keeper mounted on thecasing, a latch on the door including a.-latch lever tor engaginghehind thel keeper `to .hold the door in clesed-position,spring means act-ing on the latch leverlor Aforcing" vthe same into engagement with thelkeeperymeans for rendering said springmeans ineffective to act on the latch Alever yonmanualv operation of the latchlever to disengageit from the keeper, and means lor `automatically releasingthe'spring means-on closingthe ydoor and after the latch leverI has passed by the keeper to position to engagetherenith.

6. ln combination, a door, a decreasing, a i keeper mounted-on the casing, allatch lever pivotally mounted on the door forengagement with the keeper Whenthe door is closed to hold the door'closed,spring `means nermally acting/on .the lever to force' the same into engagement with theikeeper,means for rendering saidspringmeans ineffective to act on .theilatch'lever on manual operation of the latch lever, todisengage it tronr the keeper, saiddast mentioned imeans including a bar extending- '.over ythe edge of the door yto strike against thekeeper on closing' the door Wl-iereby'the springimeans is Areleased toaction theilatch-lever after itfhas passed.y by the-keeper to position toengage therewith.

7. In combination, a door, a door casing, avkeeper mounted on thecasing, alatch lever pivetally mounted on" the door for engagenent With the keeper when the door is in closedposition, a.; springactingfon the lever to hold. it Aiii-'engagement with the ltewper.v means for automatically rendering said spring ineffective to acton tlie.;latcl1. lever on operation of the leverfto disengage it from the keeper,-and. means :for tri pping said last mentioned means on bringingl the door to closedposition, substantially as described.

8. In combination, adoor, adoor casing, a keeper on the casing, a latch lever pivot ally mounted on ythe door to'engage `with the ikeeper to'` hold thez door closed, a lug extending from thewlatch lever, afbarliavingone end to` bear against the lug, -said bar extending outwardly over` the edge of the. door, a spring-.onf the bar-tendingto lll) hold the lerer in engagement with the keeper, means with which the bar connects' on manual operation of the lever to disengage it from the keeper to hold the spring trom acting on the lever, and a ledge on the keeper against which said bar strikes on closing the door to move the bar to disconnect from said holding` means and release the spring'.

9. A latch comprising a housing having an open inner side, a base plate attached to the casing or housingand closing said inner side ot the same, said base plate at one side having two spaced apart outwardly extendtongues turned at right angles to the base, and said housing having portions cut away at each side to provide openings, a latch lever pivotally mounted between its ends on the plate and passing through the side openings in the housing, a laterally eX- tending lugl on the lever, a member' formed with a slot therein mounted on the base plate and located against said tongues, a bar formed with a head at one end te bear against said lug on the latch lever and passing through the slot in said member, said bar being formed on its inner side with a shoulder, a spring located around the bar between said member and head of the bar and bearing at one end coil against the inner end of the head on the bar so as to normally impel the free end of the bar to more inwardly to engage the shoulder on the bar with said member through which it passes when the bar is moved outwardly to carry the shoulder beyond said member.

10. A latch comprising; a housing, a latch lever pivotally mounted between its ends in the housing and extending through the same, a lug projecting from the lever to one side thereof', a bar formed with a head positioned at an obtuse angle to the length of the bar, said head being designed to seat against the lug, a guide member through which the bar passes, and a spring located around the bar between the head thereof and said guide member, said bar being formed on its inner side with a shoulder to engage with the guide member when the spring is compressed and the bar moved outwardly a predetermined distance, substantially as described.

l1. ln combination, a door, a lat-eh on the door, a door easing, a keeper on the casing with which the latch engages when the door is closed, spring means acting on the latch to normally hold it in engagement with the keeper, and means to releasably hold. said spring means from acting on the latch when the doorIl is opened, said means being automatically released by striking the keeper on closing the door, substantially as described.

ln testimony whereof we aHiX our signatures.

ALEANDER F. VINTERS. BASIL R. CRAMPTON. 

